LUCKNOW: Children of a middle-aged man Aqeel Qureshi, who was accused in cases of alleged cow sluaghter and buffalo theft in Bulandshahar district, have alleged that their father was thrown from rooftop in the night by cops, which led to his death few days later.
"Our father was friendly to everyone, he never troubled anyone. A team of cops came to our house at around 1 am recently and after beating him (father) with lathis and rifle buts, they threw him from the rooftop," two daughters and son (all minors) of the deceased man alleged.
"Some cops first came from the back gate of our house which opens in the back-lane, while other police personnel came inside the house after knocking at the front door. After entering the house they caught my father and assaulted him with rifle buts in the head and lathis on other parts of the body before throwing him down from the roof top," the eldest of three children alleged in a video which has gone viral over social media.
"They (cops) even abused my father verbally after throwing him on the ground. We want justice for our dead father," the three kids said on Saturday.
A probe has, meanwhile, been ordered into the entire episode. The SP (Rural) of Bulandshahar district, Harendra Kumar is conducting the probe. "We're recording statements of all concerned," Kumar told The New Indian Express on Sunday.
According to Kumar, the entire matter pertains to Khurja town. "The man Aqeel Qureshi, aged around 42 years, was accused in six criminal cases, including four cases of cow slaughter and one case of buffalo theft. He was wanted in the October 2020 case of buffalo theft. Coming to know about his presence in the house, the local police went to his house on May 23 night to detain him in the seven months old buffalo theft case. But his wife told the police that he wasn't present in the house."
The senior police officer further said that though the police team left the house empty handed, Aqeel, apprehending that cops would return again tried to escape by jumping from his terrace. "His neighbours said that he has done such acts in the past too," Kumar said.
On getting hurt, Aqeel's family got him admitted at Kailash Hospital in Bulandshahar under the patient's name of Rehan. He was later referred to Aligarh Medical College and subsequently shifted to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, where he died on May 27, the Bulandshahar SP (Rural Areas) said.